Axis Munde~by Paul F. Lenzi

 

 

Axis Munde

Djed Pillar of Egyptian Myth

seaborne casket
Osiris deceived
come to rest
upon far foreign shores
in a tamarisk womb
god and man become one
with the trunk of the wood
tree of life
sacred roots
deep in mortal terrain
fed by netherworld waters
mysterious fluid containing
the secretmost nourishing
words of the gods
branches touching the stars
holding orbs to their motion
conducting the soul of the flesh
to its afterlife
making of death an eternity
here was the Djed
as decreed by the axe
of a heretic king
fragrant pillar
upholding the roof of the world
the great spine of existence
till Isis retrieved her beloved
and made of his pieces
a father of pharaohs